Tag: National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA)

Dr Lawrence Anukam, the Director-General of NESREA, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.

Anukam said that the collaboration would help identify specific issues affecting the environment in the various states, adding that it would aid efforts to tackle them efficiently.

“The agency’s prayer is that all the state governors will give us that opportunity to have our presence in their states, so that we can work together with them.

“The opportunity will help NESREA to work effectively to address environmental issues at the grassroots,’’ he said.

To this effect, the director-general said that NESREA had trained its staff and those of the collaborating agencies on salient environmental issues.

Anukam said that the collaboration would promote environmental health of the country and enhance the service delivery of the agency.

He said that NESREA had introduced environmental training programmes with the police so as to facilitate its operations in a pragmatic way.

“We work together with the police in terms of enforcement; we go in the company of policemen whenever we go for environmental inspections.

“We also go with the police whenever we want to seal those organisations that have violated environmental laws.

“So, we decided to engage the police in the training programme, so as to educate them on our activities.

“In the course of the training, the agency has provided a training curriculum, which involves the junior, middle and higher cadres of the police force,” he said.

Besides, Anukam said that NESREA had sensitised the judiciary to its expectations with regard to environmental activities.

According to him, the judiciary is there to interpret law and mete out punishment to violators.

“The judiciary needs to be appreciated; it should also be educated on environmental issues, as such will help us to achieve our set goals.

“We will also sensitise other government agencies to the importance of keeping our surroundings clean so as to protect the lives of the people,’’ he said.

Dr Lawrence Anukam, the Director-General of National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), said this on Thursday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Anukam said that adequate mechanisms had been put in place to control such illegal movement and import of hazardous waste, including electronic waste (e-waste), in the country.

He said that NESREA was collaborating with various governments and international organisations to ensure that Nigeria did not become a dumping ground for e-waste shipped in from other countries.

Anukam said that the agency individually initiated the National Dump Watch Programme to facilitate the achievement of designed plans to stamp out illegal trans-boundary movement and importation of hazardous waste in the country.

“The agency had partnered with all the key security agencies nationwide to ensure that the importation of harmful waste, including e-waste, into the country is controlled.

“The surveillance is an ongoing project; whenever we receive alert that a ship, which is coming from one country or the other to Nigeria, is likely carrying some hazardous waste; we swiftly move into action.

“When such alert comes in, we quickly activate our national dump watch committee which includes the Customs, the Police, the Navy and National Ports Authority, among others.

“The security agencies will follow it up to make sure that they get the name of the ship, the numbers and other information about the ship.

“It is through this process that we will be able to track down the ship ferrying illegal items into the country; we will, therefore, intercept it and send it back to its port of origin.

“We believe that it is unethical to ship hazardous e-waste to developing countries from developed countries under any guise whatsoever,’’ he said.

The director-general pledged that NESREA would ensure the enforcement of the extant regulations on e-waste in the country.

He stressed that Nigeria was signatory to the Basel Convention on Transitory Movement of Hazardous Waste.

He noted that the convention was an international treaty on the trans-boundary movement of hazardous waste and other chemical waste.

Anukam said that Nigeria would continue to participate actively in all regional or global processes and efforts aimed at promoting environmentally sound management of wastes and chemicals.

He said that the agency would honour the obligations and commitments in all the multilateral agreements, which the Federal Government had entered into.

He however, called on relevant stakeholders, regulatory organisations, law enforcement and security agencies to improve on their service delivery with regard to the management of environmental issues.